Introduction: Inaugural Addresses, the Beginning
Last week’s inaugural address
reminded me of a conversation I had with a history buff who
told me that every single Inaugural Address From
George Washington to Barack Obama has been preserved in written and
now recorded forms. And in every one of these speeches,
most of which were over an hour in length, Presidents have laid out the dreams
and goals and aspirations of their presidencies—they
have set forth their mission for the next four years, words
they intend to live by, words they intend to lead by, words
to measure the effectiveness of their presidency.
George Washington spoke of the power of
that Almighty Being who rules over the universe that
would guide his hand and advance the character of an independent nation, and
expressed his goal for a nation independent, but under God.
Abraham Lincoln, in a more
difficult time in the history of our country, challenged
those who would destroy the nation through secession saying
“You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government while
I shall have the most solemn one to
preserve, protect and defend it.”
And
so he did, even to the point of conducting a war to preserve the Union.
Franklin Roosevelt, addressing the
crisis of a nation and a world in the throes of
a deep economic depression, promised to endure and work to revive the nation reminding
us that the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.
And, notably, as America reached
the status of the world’s great power, John Kennedy invited us to take on
the role of leadership in defending freedom, challenging us to ask not what your country can do for us, but
what we can do for our country. And
to the world, ask not what America can do for you but
what together we can do for the freedom of mankind.
At every turn in the progress of
this democratic republic presidents
have sought to lay out a mission in their inaugural addresses so
that we may have some idea where we may be going and
what is expected of us.
The Book of Proverbs states that
“without a vision, the people will perish," so
having some kind of vision is important for leading a good and effective life. Presidents and people, businesses
and social groups, families
and churches need words to live by, an
inaugural address to set forth their goals and
to measure their work along the path to meeting those goals in a hope-filled,
persistent manner.